PARLIAMENT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 19 July 1929, Page 7

PARLIAMENT

YESTERDAY'S BUSINESS HOUSE OI : REPUESENTATIJSS (By Telegraph.)' (From "The Mail's" Parli.wionlary < reporter.) ' WELLINGTON, 18th July. ' The Mouse of Representatives met ' at 2.30 p.m. to-day. ■ Mr i\ Langstoiie (Waimsirino) gave \ notice'to ask the Minister of Justice ' whether it was the policy of tho I'ri- ' sons Department to work prisoners at National I'ark Station from 7.30 a.m. ' to 8 p.m. ; whether prisoners were promised extra, butler, cheese, and tobacco if they worked on Sundays, but which had never been, given to them; whether he was aware that illegal methods had been, used to take trout from a stream for members of the L'risuns Hoard; whether prisoners had been worked in the rain, and promised afternoon leu, and whether he knew that one mail's tobacco hud been stopped because he refused; whether the Minister was aware that a prisoner was engaged in clearing laud in front of the l'ongariro Chateau golf house, owned by a pnvate. company; and whether prisoners were working from 5.30 a.m. to '1.30 p.m., although they should return to camp at 5 p.m., and whether prisoners Having tliti temerity to ask the time of day wore threatened with penalties. The Hon. A. T. Ngata: "What is the award''" Mr W. J. Poison (Stratford) gave notice to ask the Minister of Public Works whether the Government would take into consideration the question of allocating money in order that a comprehensive reading programme might be undertaken. SINGAPORE BASE Mr Langstoiie gave notice to ask the Prime Minister if he had seen the report concerning the Singapore Base which intimated, that out of a total expenditure of £1,813,364 Britain had only contributed £200,000. Mr Langstone asked if the Prime Minister would reconsider the payment of New Zealand's annual quota and transfer the sum for th e relief of unemployment throughout the Dominion. UNEMPLOYMENT INVESTIGATION Mr J. S. Fletcher (Grey Lynn] asked the Minister of Labour when tho special committee set up to investigate unemployment would complete its work and report to the House. ■Mr W. E. Parry (Auckland Central): ''They are not working." The Minister (the Hon. W. A. Veitch) said he was not in a position to say when the committee would complete its work. It had been given a free hand to investigate the period over a very wide range, and he thought it would be quite unwise for the Government to urge them to make their report until they had completed their investigations. There was no objection to the report being made available to the House when it was ready. Mr E. J. Howard (Christchurch South): "Are they meeting at all?" Mr Veitch: "Yes, they are." In reply to Mr A. E. Ansell (Chalmers), the Postmaster-General (the Hon. J. ]>. Donald) stated that the Government was very dissatisfied with the conditions resulting from the withdrawal of the Manuka from the South IslandMelbourne service, and was taking steps to remedy the position. PUBLIC WORKS CONDITIONS Mr R. Semple (Wellington East) asked if the attention of the "Minister of Public Works had been drawn to the conditions existing at the Palliser Bay Public Works Camp. He said he had received a letter from, one of the men complaining bitterly of the conditions, and staling that one of the employees had died as a result of neglect. The Hon. E. A. Rnyisom replied that it was a difficult matter to send men to such a camp at short notice and have everything in readiness for their reception.' The trouble was that the men. wanted all home comforts, and those comforts could not be supplied at once. It was to be regretted that one of the men had died, but there was nothing to show that that was due to any neglect on the part of the Department. Tiie conditions at the camp had been aggravated by the bad weather which had been experienced lately. It was a rough job, but in spite of that the utmost would bo done to make the men comfortable.